Broken Walls, One Family

Eric Thompson •
August 17, 2026

2 Minute Read

Focus Verse: Ephesians 2:14

"For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility."

There is something powerful about the image of a wall coming down. You have probably experienced walls in your own life - moments when cultural difference, political tension, or even church tradition created invisible barriers between you and someone else. Jesus did not come to manage those barriers or work around them. He came to destroy them entirely.

The hostility that once separated Jew and Gentile was not merely cultural preference. It was deep, centuries-old division. And yet, in His body on the cross, Jesus made the two into one. That same reconciling power is available to every relationship marked by distance and suspicion today. The cross is not just your personal salvation story. It is the foundation of a new family that crosses every boundary the world insists must remain.

When you look around your church, your neighborhood, or your city, ask yourself whether you are living as though that wall is still standing. Because Jesus already tore it down.

Today's Challenge: Identify one person in your life who is meaningfully different from you - culturally, ethnically, or denominationally - and pray specifically for them by name today.

Prayer: Father, I confess that I sometimes rebuild the walls You tore down. Remind me today that Christ is my peace and the peace of every believer, and help me live like that is true. Amen.

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From this Tag: marriage

August 20, 2026 • 2 Minute Read

Every Nation Before the Throne

Focus Verse: Revelation 7:9 "After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands." This is where history is headed. Every nation. Every tribe. Every language. Standing together before the throne of God, united in one declaration: salvation belongs to God. That is the future, and it is glorious. But it also shapes how you should live right now. If that is the picture of eternity, then the local church's work of radical inclusion is not optional social programming. It is a preview of heaven. Every time believers of different backgrounds choose unity over division, they are giving the watching world a glimpse of what God is building. You are not waiting for that picture to become real in eternity. You are practicing it today. This also means that your mission extends beyond your neighborhood. Supporting missionaries, praying for believers in other countries, and learning about the global church are not extra-credit activities for especially spiritual people. They are expressions of what it means to belong to a worldwide family that will one day stand together before the Lamb. Today's Challenge: Spend five minutes today reading about or praying for a missionary or a church in another part of the world, letting the vision of Revelation 7:9 shape your prayer. Prayer: Father, I lift my eyes beyond my own community today and ask You to work powerfully in Your church across the globe. Let my life be part of the beautiful tapestry You are weaving from every nation and tongue. Amen.

Eric Thompson

August 19, 2026 • 2 Minute Read

Unity Is Where Blessing Lives

Focus Verse: Psalm 133:1 "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!" Unity is not just a nice idea. According to Psalm 133, it is the place where God commands His blessing. That word "commands" is striking. God does not merely offer blessing where there is unity. He directs it there. This means division is not just relationally painful. It is spiritually costly. When the enemy works to keep believers fighting over denominations, political loyalties, and racial identities, he is working to cut off the flow of what God intended to pour out. You have likely felt the weight of division in your lifetime. Perhaps it was a church split, a falling out between believers, or the slow drift of relationships that once felt strong. Division leaves a hollow feeling because it is working against the very design of God for His people. But unity, even when it is hard-won, produces something different. It produces an atmosphere where God shows up and where people notice. The world is watching the church, and one of the most compelling testimonies you can offer a divided culture is the sight of people who have every reason to be separated choosing to remain together under the cross. Today's Challenge: Ask God to show you one area of your heart where division has taken root - whether toward a person, a denomination, or a culture - and surrender that specific thing to Him today. Prayer: Father, I confess that I have sometimes valued being right over being unified. Teach me to prize what You prize, and let my life be a place where Your blessing flows freely. Amen.

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August 18, 2026 • 2 Minute Read

Citizens of God's Household

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August 17, 2026 • 2 Minute Read

Broken Walls, One Family

Focus Verse: Ephesians 2:14 "For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility." There is something powerful about the image of a wall coming down. You have probably experienced walls in your own life - moments when cultural difference, political tension, or even church tradition created invisible barriers between you and someone else. Jesus did not come to manage those barriers or work around them. He came to destroy them entirely. The hostility that once separated Jew and Gentile was not merely cultural preference. It was deep, centuries-old division. And yet, in His body on the cross, Jesus made the two into one. That same reconciling power is available to every relationship marked by distance and suspicion today. The cross is not just your personal salvation story. It is the foundation of a new family that crosses every boundary the world insists must remain. When you look around your church, your neighborhood, or your city, ask yourself whether you are living as though that wall is still standing. Because Jesus already tore it down. Today's Challenge: Identify one person in your life who is meaningfully different from you - culturally, ethnically, or denominationally - and pray specifically for them by name today. Prayer: Father, I confess that I sometimes rebuild the walls You tore down. Remind me today that Christ is my peace and the peace of every believer, and help me live like that is true. Amen.

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August 14, 2026 • 2 Minute Read

Keeping the Word Before You

Focus Verse: Deuteronomy 6:8-9 "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." God understood something about human beings that we are sometimes slow to admit: we forget what we do not keep in front of us. The instructions in Deuteronomy were not meant to be read once and filed away. They were meant to be visible - on the body, on the door, woven into the architecture of daily life. The ancient Israelites developed physical reminders because the soul needs repeated exposure to what is true. You live in an era with more tools for this than any generation before you. A verse on your bathroom mirror costs nothing but a marker. A prayer printed from Ephesians 1 and taped to your car dashboard turns a commute into a conversation with God. A memory verse written on the refrigerator becomes something the whole family encounters multiple times a day. These are not decorations. They are declarations about what your household is built on and who holds it together. When your children grow up and leave your home, they will carry images with them. Make sure some of those images are the word of God on the walls, on the table, and on the lips of the people who loved them most. Today's Challenge: Place one verse or short prayer somewhere in your home today where your family will see it repeatedly - on the mirror, the refrigerator, the front door, or a car dashboard - and tell your family why you put it there. Prayer: Father, I want my home to be a place where your word is visible and your presence is felt. Help me to build an environment where faith is not confined to Sunday but is woven into every ordinary day. Let my family see that your word matters to me, and let that vision take root in them.

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August 13, 2026 • 2 Minute Read

Starting Before You Feel Ready

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August 12, 2026 • 2 Minute Read

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August 11, 2026 • 2 Minute Read

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August 10, 2026 • 2 Minute Read

The Home as Holy Ground

Focus Verse: Deuteronomy 6:6-7 "These words that I am commanding you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." You may not think of your kitchen table or your morning commute as sacred space, but God does. Long before Israel had temples and priests, God handed parents a commission: make the ordinary moments of daily life into classrooms of faith. The breakfast table, the car ride to school, the quiet moment before lights go out - these are not interruptions to spiritual formation; they are the primary location of it. This is not a calling reserved for pastors or Sunday school teachers. It is yours. God placed those children in your home precisely because you are the right person for this mission. The word translated "diligently" carries the sense of sharpening, of pressing something in with intention. God is not asking for occasional conversations about faith. He is describing a way of life where his word saturates everything. You do not need to be a theologian to begin. You simply need to begin. Today's Challenge: Identify one ordinary moment in your daily routine - a car ride, a meal, a bedtime - and decide right now that starting today it will include one sentence of Scripture or one question about God. Prayer: Father, I confess I have let ordinary moments pass without pointing my family toward you. I ask you to open my eyes to the sacred opportunities already built into my day. Help me to start today, not tomorrow.

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August 3, 2026 • 2 Minute Read

Contentment Before the Ring

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August 3, 2026 • 2 Minute Read

Guarding Against Worldly Distraction

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August 3, 2026 • 2 Minute Read

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